Aviva Premiership
Gloucester announce new coaching appointments
ESPN Staff
June 25, 2014
Nick Walshe - success with England Under-20s © Getty Images
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Gloucester have announced the appointment of World Cup-winning coach Nick Walshe as their backs and attack specialist, and also confirmed Australian John Muggleton's appointment as defence coach.

The moves follow the dismissal of director of rugby Nigel Davies at the end of the season and his replacement by former Ulster boss David Humphreys at the beginning of June.

Walshe masterminded England Under-20s' triumphs at the last two Junior World Championships, while Muggleton was the Australia national team's defence coach for a ten-year period that included the 1999 World Cup triumph.

Former scrum-half Walshe, 39, was capped by England and also played for Harlequins, Saracens, Sale, Bath and Bedford.

"I am delighted that John and Nick are joining us as we prepare for the forthcoming season, and we are very much looking forward to them starting in their posts shortly," Gloucester chief executive Stephen Vaughan said. "I make no apology for the fact that we've taken our time with these appointments, but we wanted to make sure that we got absolutely the right individuals in place, and that can take time.

"John possesses a wealth of defensive know-how. He's got a ton of experience at the very highest level, and we are delighted to have someone of his calibre on board.

"Nick Walshe is one of the brightest young coaching talents around. What he has achieved with the England Under-20s in the past couple of years has been magnificent. A number of our players have already worked with him over the past few seasons, of course, as part of that set-up.

"They have been playing a great brand of rugby, and we're delighted that he will now be working with our back-line, which has the potential to be among the very best in the game. There are obviously still other appointments to be made, but we are making real progress and hope to be able to make some further announcements soon. I am delighted with how things are shaping up."

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